What Katana does

Katana Network is an Ethereum Layer-2 (chain ID 747474) DeFi protocol operated by the nonprofit Katana Foundation and incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR, with Framework Ventures as the lead seed investor. The protocol was founded in 2024 and launched its mainnet in October 2025. Its core architectural innovation is the Chain-Owned Liquidity model, which consolidates liquidity across integrated DeFi applications — Sushi for swaps, Morpho for lending, Yearn for automated yield, and Vertex — instead of fragmenting capital across discrete pools. This is intended to deliver deeper, more stable liquidity and to channel protocol-level sequencer fees, stablecoin revenues, and bridged-asset yields back to participants.

The product surface spans five components: the Katana Network L2 chain (built on zkSync Era, settling to Ethereum with ETH gas and sub-cent transaction costs), the KAT governance and utility token, the VaultBridge mechanism that puts bridged assets to work in Ethereum yield strategies, AUSD — a U.S. Treasury-yield-backed native stablecoin — and vKAT/avKAT staking for gauge voting and reward accrual. Katana serves individual DeFi users globally via a self-serve interface (app.katana.network) and extends distribution through Binance Futures and OKX Earn programs.

Katana generates revenue indirectly at the protocol layer through sequencer fees, transaction fees, lending protocol spreads (Morpho), DEX trading activity (Sushi), and yield on Treasury-backed assets (AUSD), with the Chain-Owned Liquidity model redistributing these flows to participants. No direct user subscription pricing is disclosed. GTM is primarily product-led and community-led, relying on educational content published on katana.so, exchange listings, and integrations with established DeFi protocols rather than a sales-assisted motion.

Name

Katana

Legal name

Katana.so

Website

https://katana.so

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Katana Network is an Ethereum Layer-2 DeFi protocol incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR that consolidates liquidity across integrated protocols (Sushi, Morpho, Yearn, Vertex) to deliver real, asset-backed yield via VaultBridge and the AUSD stablecoin for individual DeFi users globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Layer-2 Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Yield, Vaults & Asset Management (vault strategies, robo-vaults, structured yield) (FSAPAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stablecoins & On-Chain Money (fiat-backed, crypto-backed, algorithmic; issuance/redemption) (FSAPAEAB), Decentralized Lending & Borrowing Protocols (FSADAMAA)

Keywords

• DeFi yield protocol
• Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain
• Decentralized liquidity infrastructure
• Chain-owned liquidity
• Real yield stablecoin

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Yield Redistribution from Protocol Revenue: Katana generates yield from sequencer fees, stablecoin revenues, and bridged asset yields which are redistributed to protocol participants through its Chain-Owned Liquidity model. The revenue flows are derived from transaction fees, lending protocols (Morpho), DEX trading (Sushi), and other integrated DeFi applications.
2. KAT Token Utility: The KAT token serves as both utility and governance token. Token holders lock KAT into vKAT or avKAT staking mechanisms to participate in governance voting and earn protocol rewards, creating a yield mechanism tied to token holdings.
3. AUSD Treasury Yield: AUSD stablecoin generates yield through U.S. Treasury exposure integrated via VaultBridge, providing stable real-world asset returns to users who hold or use the stablecoin within the Katana ecosystem.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Katana operates an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain (chain ID 747474) that consolidates DeFi liquidity across integrated protocols such as Sushi, Morpho, and Yearn via a Chain-Owned Liquidity model. The platform redistributes real yields from sequencer fees, stablecoin revenues, and bridged assets to participants through VaultBridge, an AUSD stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasury yield, and KAT token staking mechanisms.

Product overview

Katana Network is a DeFi-focused Ethereum Layer-2 platform (not a Solana project) incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR, operated by the nonprofit Katana Foundation. The platform provides deep liquidity and real yield through an integrated suite: the core Katana Network chain with KAT governance token, VaultBridge for yield-generating bridged assets, AUSD stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasury yield, and vKAT/avKAT staking mechanisms. Liquidity is concentrated across integrated DeFi protocols Sushi, Morpho, and Yearn rather than scattered across pools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AUSD: Native stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasury yield
• VaultBridge

Products and services

• Katana Network Ethereum Layer-2 DeFi chain (chain ID 747474) incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR, designed to consolidate capital and redistribute yields from sequencer fees, stablecoin revenues, and bridged assets to participants while maintaining sub-cent transaction costs.
• VaultBridge Yield generation mechanism that puts bridged assets to work on Ethereum through yield strategies, enabling real yield backed by actual assets rather than token emissions for Katana Network participants.
• AUSD Stablecoin Native stablecoin on Katana Network backed by U.S. Treasury yield, designed to provide a stable, real-yield generating asset for DeFi participants within the Katana ecosystem.
• KAT Token Native utility and governance token of Katana Network used for incentives, governance participation, and revenue sharing. Total supply of 10 billion tokens, with holders able to lock tokens into vKAT or avKAT for gauge voting and rewards.
• vKAT and avKAT Staking Staking mechanisms where KAT token holders lock tokens to participate in gauge voting, earn protocol rewards, and engage in governance, with cooldown periods applied to unstaking.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sub-cent transaction costs maintained as competitive advantage

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SushicoreTechnology or IntegrationSushi is one of the integrated DeFi applications within Katana's ecosystem, providing concentrated liquidity pools for token swaps as part of Katana's unified liquidity approach.
• MorphocoreTechnology or IntegrationMorpho is integrated into Katana's liquidity infrastructure, contributing lending protocol integration to the Chain-Owned Liquidity model for yield generation from sequencer fees and stablecoin revenues.
• VertexcoreTechnology or IntegrationVertex is integrated into Katana's DeFi ecosystem, providing additional liquidity and trading capabilities within the protocol's unified liquidity framework.
• Yearn FinancecoreTechnology or IntegrationYearn Finance is integrated into Katana's liquidity infrastructure, contributing automated yield strategy capabilities to the protocol's yield generation model.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pendle Finance: Pendle is a DeFi yield-tokenization protocol that lets users trade and split future yield streams. Like Katana, it is centered on packaging, redirecting and redistributing DeFi yield, making it the closest direct comparable for Katana's yield, vaults and asset-management positioning.
• Yearn Finance: Yearn pioneered automated DeFi yield aggregation through vaults. It is also explicitly integrated into Katana's Chain-Owned Liquidity stack, and competes head-to-head for users seeking automated, optimized yield strategies across lending and AMM venues.
• Convex Finance: Convex consolidates voting power and CRV emissions on Curve to amplify Curve-LP yield, structurally analogous to Katana's Chain-Owned Liquidity model of pooling capital across integrated protocols to boost yield. It is a direct conceptual peer in unified-liquidity yield optimization.
• Beefy Finance: Beefy is a multi-chain yield optimizer that auto-compounds and rebalances positions across lending, AMM and LP protocols. It targets the same day-to-day DeFi user seeking automated, diversified yield that Katana targets with its VaultBridge and integrated-app model.
• Morpho (Morpho Blue): Morpho is an on-chain lending protocol whose lending markets are integrated into Katana's liquidity stack. It is both an integrated component and a direct peer — competing to capture lending-driven yield flows on Ethereum L2s that Katana also routes through its vaults.
• Frax Finance: Frax combines a stablecoin (frxUSD/FRAX) with native yield strategies and a Curve-style AMM stack. It directly mirrors Katana's stablecoin-plus-yield model (AUSD + VaultBridge), competing for users seeking Treasury- or RWA-backed stable yield.
• Sushi: Sushi is both an integrated DEX within Katana's Chain-Owned Liquidity framework and a standalone multi-chain DEX. It competes for the same on-chain swap volume and LP fees that flow back to Katana's yield redistribution pool.

Broad incumbents

• EigenLayer / restaking protocols: EigenLayer pioneered restaking as a new source of crypto-native real yield. It sits adjacent to Katana's restaking/thesis area within vKAT-style staking while operating as a much larger, established incumbent in the broader on-chain yield layer.
• MakerDAO / Sky: Sky (formerly MakerDAO) operates the DAI stablecoin and Savings rate, a well-established Treasury-yield-bearing stablecoin comparable to AUSD. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same on-chain Treasury-yield user base that AUSD targets.

Emerging players

• Aerodrome (Base): Aerodrome is Base's dominant DEX and vote-escrowed liquidity hub. It is an emerging player applying a chain-owned-style liquidity model on the Base L2 — structurally similar to Katana's thesis of unifying liquidity and routing emissions/redistribution to LPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Katana_HQ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Katana